1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a system for executing a query, and in particular to enabling a user to optimize query execution.
2. Description of Related Art
Large-scale integrated database management systems provide an efficient, consistent, and secure means for storing and retrieving vast amounts of data. At the same time, information is being stored in new data formats. In particular, multimedia applications are being introduced and deployed for a wide range of business and entertainment purposes, including multimedia storage, retrieval, and content analysis.
Multimedia database information can be managed by a relational database management system (RDBMS), which stores data in tables. RDBMS software using a Structured Query Language (SQL) interface is well known in the art. The SQL interface has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO). The SQL interface allows users to manipulate the data in the RDBMS through relational operations on the tables. Additionally, relational operations of the tables may be comprised of user defined functions.
However, RDBMS software does not effectively handle data in new data formats, such as multimedia objects, and do not optimize the execution of user defined functions. There is a need in the art to provide efficient processing of multimedia data in new data formats and of user-defined functions.